Ursula von der Leyen, soon president of the European Commission for the second time, presented the appointments of her team of EU commissioners for the next mandate. Particularly exciting from the point of view of startups: the EU obtains its own commissioner for startups, research and innovation. The position will be taken care of by Ekaterina Zahariva Bulgaria.
Zaharieva was previously the Bulgarian Minister for Regional Development, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. With Julian Popov, she was the second person appointed by the Bulgaria government for a position at the EU Commission. THE The EU Parliament must still approve the appointments.
The media Politico suggests that Zahariva will probably not be approved due to the previous charges of her Involvement in corrupt diagrams in Bulgaria. In 2018, Zaharieva was taken in a scandal linked to the sale of Bulgarian citizens.
“”We have to put research and innovation, science and technology, at the heart of our economy. (Zaharieva) will ensure that we invest more and concentrate our expenses in strategic priorities and in revolutionary technologies,“Said Von Der Leyen at a press conference where the nominated commissioners were presented.
According to the new Draghi report, there is many problems in the EU regarding startupsincluding a lot of regulations and gaps in funding. Draghi also proposed a separate legal form for startups in Europe, namely the “Innovative European company . “”
Other appointments for the EU Commission:
- Teresa Ribera Rodriguez (Spain, Green and Digital Transition and Transition)
- Henna virkkunen (Finland, technological sovereignty and security)
- Stéphane Séjourné (France, industry, internal market and small and medium -sized businesses)
- Kaja Kallas (Estonia, high representative of foreign affairs and security policy)
- Roxana Mînzatu (Romania, education)
- Raffaele Fitto (Italy, cohesion, regional policy and reforms)
- Magnus Brunner (Austria, migration)
- Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg, agriculture and food)
- Glenn Micallef (Malta, intergenerational justice, youth, culture and sport)
- Wopke Hoekstra (Netherlands, climate and clean growth)
- Piotr Serafin (Poland, Budget, Anti-Fraude and Public Administration)
- Maria Luís Albuquerque (Portugal, financial services, capital market union)
- Maroš Šefčovič (Slovakia, trade and economic security, interinstitutional relations and transparency)
- Marta Kos (Slovenia, enlargement)
- Jessika Roswall (Sweden, environment, water resilience and competitive circular economy)
- Olivér Várhelyi (Hungary, health and animal welfare)
- Michael McGrath (Ireland, democracy, justice and rule of law)
- Dombrovskis valdis (Latvia, economy and productivity, implementation and simplification)
- Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania, defense and space)
- Costas Kadis (Cyprus, fishing and oceans)
- Jozef Síkela (Czech Republic, international partnerships)
- Dan Jørgensen (Denmark, energy and housing)
- Tzitzikostas apostolos (Greece, sustainable transport and tourism)
- Hadja Lahbib (Belgium, crisis preparation and management)
- Dubravka Šuica (Croatia, Mediterranean)
- Ekaterina Zahariva (Bulgaria, startups, research and innovation)
